NEW ALBANY — Ever since he retired as the head coach of the Indianapolis Colts earlier this year, Tony Dungy has been making his rounds.

He is a football analyst on NBC’s “Football Night in America.” He has been working on his prison outreach program and representing All-Pro Dad, a program that helps men become better fathers.

On Tuesday night, Dungy’s travels took him to Northside Christian Church as the keynote speaker for the Chick-fil-A “Desire to Inspire” Dinner Series. Bryan Haag, the Clarksville Chick-fil-A restaurant operator, and his wife, Laurie, created the event.

Proceeds from the series went to ROCK (Reclaim our Culture, Kentuckiana), a Louisville-based non-profit organization that dedicated itself to building stronger communities and families in Louisville and Southern Indiana.

Dungy spoke to the near-capacity crowd of 2,000 for 15 minutes. The main focus of his speech was that more of today’s youth is trying to fit into the in-crowd. That crowd influences teenagers to try drugs and alcohol, have pre-marital sex and take their education less seriously.

Dungy said that young people who begin drinking when they are teenagers are more likely to have alcohol problems. Plus, he believes today’s television shows that include sexual content are giving teens wrong ideas.

“That’s where the crowd is going in America,” said Dungy, who added that one of the reasons he retired from coaching was to reach out to teenagers across the United States. “That’s where the crowd is taking kids. If we don’t tell kids to have the courage to get away from the crowd, then that’s where our country is going.

“I just want our young people to not be afraid in standing up for what you believe in. Don’t be afraid to be called a nerd or a geek.”

Those beliefs are expressed in Dungy’s new book “Uncommon,” which he promoted on Tuesday night. Dungy stated the book’s message is, “We always want to fit in, even if the crowd is not right.”

Dungy said two important people inspired him to write the book. One was his college football coach, former University of Minnesota head man Cal Stoll.

“Coach said I’m not looking for the ordinary. I’m looking for the uncommon,” Dungy said.

The second person who inspired him was Jesus Christ. When he was younger, Dungy’s mother, CleoMae, told him stories about Jesus and one of them was in regards to his new book’s message.

“The message from my mom was, ‘Don’t follow the crowd because the crowd is not always right,’” Dungy said.

Following his speech and a short video from ROCK, Dungy had a question-and-answer session with the congregation.

Dungy used the wisdom he gained from former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Chuck Noll, who Dungy played and coached under in Pittsburgh, to answer a couple of questions.

One question was if Dungy’s assistant coaches were allowed to scream and yell, even though he was known for rarely raising his voice during practice.

Dungy said they were, and then told the crowd that Noll’s theory on assistant coaches was, “I want nine guys not like me.”

Another question inquired about Dungy’s role model. He said his coaches, especially Noll.

“He said that football is your profession, not your life,” Dungy said.

Earlier in the day, Dungy talked to the University of Louisville football team along with other U of L athletes and a handful of Louisville-area student-athletes.

Someone asked Dungy what advice he would give Cardinals’ head coach Steve Kragthorpe, whose team is 3-5 this season.

“Do what you believe in and the players will respond,” Dungy said.

The final question for Dungy was which was better — winning a Super Bowl or being a dad? Dungy guided the Colts to the Super Bowl XLI nearly three years ago.

“The Super Bowl is a big thrill,” Dungy said. “But my son won the state championship last year in Florida and I was more nervous about that than before the Super Bowl.”